Dr. Rev. Harry Y. Gamble

Rev. Dr. Harry Y. Gamble
WAXHAW -- The Rev. Dr. Harry Y. Gamble, long-time pastor of Calvary Baptist Church and prominent citizen of Roanoke for more than half a century, passed away after a brief illness on March 24 at 88 years of age.
Born on June 17, 1916, in Waxhaw, North Carolina, near Charlotte, Dr. Gamble was the youngest and last surviving of twelve children born to James Alexander Gamble and Martha Jane Yandle Gamble, a family to whose members he was affectionately devoted all his life. He received his early education in the Waxhaw public schools, and then earned the Bachelor of Arts degree at Wake Forest College and the Bachelor of Divinity degree at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In recognition of his notable achievement in the ministry the University of Richmond conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1963.
Before coming to Roanoke, Dr. Gamble had held pastorates at David's Fork Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, and at the First Baptist Church of Statesville, North Carolina. He came to Roanoke with his family in March of 1946 to assume the pastorate of Calvary Baptist Church, succeeding Dr. Richard S. Owens. His distinguished ministry there lasted for thirty-two years, until his retirement in 1978, and since then he has served Calvary as Pastor Emeritus. Dr. Gamble was known and loved by that congregation as a thoughtful and engaging preacher, a trusted and sympathetic counselor and a caring friend. Upon his retirement Calvary Baptist Church created an annual lectureship in his honor, 'The Harry Y. Gamble Life Renewal Series,' which over the years since has brought to the congregation and the larger community many prominent ministers and teachers. Throughout his ministry and throughout his retirement Dr. Gamble was a familiar visitor to homes and hospitals, the officiant at countless weddings and funerals, and a cherished friend to many in the Roanoke Valley, the needy and powerless as well as the affluent and well placed.
Dr. Gamble was an active and constructive participant in the civic and religious life of the larger Roanoke community and was deeply involved in Virginia Baptist affairs. During his retirement he served for an extended time as interim pastor of Virginia Heights Baptist Church, and continued until very recently to be a frequent guest preacher at many Roanoke area churches and a popular speaker before many civic and religious groups.
Dr. Gamble is survived by his devoted wife of 66 years, Frances Niven Gamble, also a native of Waxhaw; by their two children, Harry Y. Gamble, Jr. of Charlottesville, VA, and Angela Gamble Moresco of Brandon, FL, and their spouses, Tamara Gamble and Dominic Moresco; five grandchildren, Harry Y. Gamble III of Wooster, OH, and his wife April, Allison Gamble Kelley of Silver Spring, MD, and her husband Edward, Meredith Johnson Aiken, and her husband David, Dan Rommie Johnson, and his wife Emily, and Kimberly Michele Moresco, all of Tampa, FL; by four great grandchildren, May Gamble Kelley and Fiona Constance Kelley, both of Silver Spring, MD, and Henry David Gamble and Sophie Frances Gamble, both of Wooster, OH; and by many nieces and nephews.
A service in celebration of Dr. Gamble's life and ministry will be held at Calvary Baptist Church on Monday, March 28 at 1 p.m. An interment service will be held at the Gamble family site in the cemetery at Waxhaw. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, gifts or memorials be made to the Harry Y. Gamble Memorial Fund at Calvary Baptist Church.